The present invention relates to portioned detergent compositions which make the metering of detergents easier for the consumer. In particular, the invention relates to portioned detergent compositions which are packaged in a container made of water-soluble or water-dispersible film.
Detergents and processes for their production have been known for some time and are accordingly widely described in the prior art. Typically, they are supplied to the consumer in the form of spray-dried or granulated powder products or as a liquid product. Following the desire of the consumer for simpler dosage, products in preportioned form have become established on the market in addition to these two classical variants and have likewise been described extensively in the prior art, and especially compressed shaped bodies, i.e. tablets, blocks, briquettes and the like, and also portions of liquid or solid detergents packaged in pouches, have been described.
In the case of individual dosage amounts of detergents which have come onto the market packaged in pouches, pouches made of water-soluble film, which make it unnecessary for the consumer to tear open the package, have in turn become established. In this way, convenient metering of a single portion is possible by placing the pouch directly into the washing machine or dishwasher, or into its dispenser compartment, or by introducing it into a predetermined amount of water, for example in a bucket or in a handwashing basin or sink. Accordingly, the prior art describes a large number of detergents packaged in pouches made of water-soluble film.
For instance, DE-B 11 30 547 (Procter & Gamble) discloses packages made of water-soluble films of polyvinyl alcohol which are filled with nonliquid synthetic detergents. This document does not discuss the particle sizes of the packaged detergents.
An individual dose of a detergent or bleach in a pouch which has one or more seams made of water-sensitive material is described in European patent application EP 143 476 (Akzo N.V.). The water-sensitive seam material proposed in this publication is a mixture of anionic and/or nonionic water-binding polymer and cationic polymer adhesive material.
Extremely large particles which are enclosed by a water-insoluble film are described in EP 385 529 (Procter & Gamble) This document discloses a jumbo-particulate textile softener composition whose 5 to 30 mm-sized dryer-activated softener particles are enclosed by a water-insoluble, porous film.
It has been found that problems relating to production arise in the case of the prior art detergent compositions packaged in water-soluble or water-dispersible containers. In the course of the packaging of the detergent compositions into the water-soluble container, fine particles remain adhering to the container and get into the seams which are formed when the container is sealed. As a result of these particles in the seal, the seams in question are not fully impervious toward the atmosphere, which can lead to stability problems, in the detergent composition, and to leaks through the seams in question. To solve these problems, DE 198 31 703 (Henkel KGaA) has proposed that at least 70% by weight of the particles of the detergent composition have particle sizes above 800 μm.
None of the documents mentioned discloses aqueous, liquid detergent compositions packaged in water-soluble or water-dispersible containers. It has been found that problems arise here which are similar to those with particulate compositions: the liquid detergent composition to be introduced into the container often continues to drip or has stringing properties, so that, when the containers are sealed shut, these strings or drips and thus product residues get into the seam where, as described above, they, lead to leaks which have much more disastrous consequences in the case of liquid contents than in the case of particulate contents.
In the case of the liquid detergent compositions, it may additionally be the case that the drips or product strings which are included in the seam to be formed are subjected to such thermal stress when a heat-sealing method is used that the composition boils and can lead to further leaks, discolorations or, in the most serious case, even to accidents as a result of thermal decomposition.
Interestingly, a change in the viscosity of the liquid detergent composition does not lead to success; it instead has to be supported by suitable further measures in the course of product formulation, these measures leading to improved results even irrespective of the viscosity of the compositions.
The avoidance of these problems and the provision of a portioned, liquid, i.e. pourable, detergent composition in which the seams of the containers consisting of water-dispersible or water-soluble film are impervious toward the atmosphere is an object of the present invention. It has been shown that the problems mentioned of pervious seams and the subsequent problems resulting therefrom can be ruled out when the aqueous liquid detergent compositions to be portioned satisfy certain criteria with regard to the particle size of the particles suspended in the aqueous, liquid matrix.